Agenda - Council Work Session - 08/06/2018

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Ideas in Actionkm the franchise fees for residents paying previously levied assessments until those assessments were paid in full. The change was implemented in 2013, and the benefits went far beyond elim- inating large property tax assessments, Femrite says. By collecting the money ahead of time, the city would be able to keep enough on hand to pay for projects as they were done rather than borrow- ing the money. That has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest payments, meaning more funds can be dedicated to work. That also means street upkeep is more frequent and regular, which increases the lifespan of the roads, city officials say. Getting community buy -in Getting the community on board was key to making the change successful. "We waited until the Council gave direction that they were steering this way," Femrite says. "They said, 'Why don't you gauge the interest level of the community?"' The city sent mailings to all residents and worked through the Elk River Area Chamber of Commerce to engage business leaders. Staff attended business group meetings and also set up a blog for comments and questions. Femrite says he responded to many queries, but he had a sense the idea was catching on when some critics were shot down by supporters before he had a chance to answer. "The one thing I really feel was benefi- cial for us on that blog was when people would post critical things of government and what we were trying to do, propo- nents for it outside the city staff would argue for making a change like this;" Femrite says "I think that really helped in having that open dialogue between com- munity members without me necessarily having to make every response. That goes a long way —it's not the city telling everyone the answers." While there were doubters and oppo- nents, Femrite says, once people started understanding that the change would mean an end to the assessment system of the past, momentum gathered in support of the change. "I don't care whether it's real life or Monopoly, nobody likes to get the card saying 'You received a notice from the city for street repairs; pay this much money,"' he says. "It wasn't favorable for anyone —nobody has ever liked going through that process." Debbi Rydberg, executive director with the Elk River Area Chamber, says the organization did not take sides on the issue, but did help the city dissem- inate information about the change to its members. She understands that the change is likely more budget -friendly for most people, and she did credit city officials with being upfront about the proposed change and open to suggested alterations. "I think [city leaders] were very open about it," Rydberg says. "They wanted to hear the concerns." Since the franchise fees were imple- mented, she has not heard any com- pp writs from the local business commu- nity —an indication that the move has not been problematic. "I talk to businesses all the time;" she says. "I hear them complain about plenty of things. I would be one of the people to hear about it, especially since we did provide the information." Modeled after St. Louis Park program The franchise fee model seems to be growing in popularity. Dietz says Elk River officials have been contacted by several cities seeking insight about how the change has worked. And Femrite indicates that the Elk River franchise fee was modeled after programs introduced in a couple cities several years ago. One of them was a program instituted by St. Louis Park several years ago under which the city collects $3.25 from both gas and electric users each month to cover the cost of street rehabilitation. St. Louis Park City Manager Tom Har- mening says the franchise fee has been adjusted every other year to keep up with the cost of construction, but adds that the fee has allowed St. Louis Park to maintain its roads on a pay-as-you-go basis with- out assessing residents for the cost. It's been around since 2003 and, despite City Council turnover since then, the program has been in place and funds have been used only for the initially intended purpose, Harmening says. Mayor Dietz and City Engineer Femrite look at distressed pavement in need of reconstruction. "We have a traditionally strong com- mitment to maintaining our infrastruc- ture and upgrading it," he says. "We do have turnover on the Council, but we've always had councilmembers who have seen the value of what we're doing. That certainly helps. It's never been an issue, not even remotely." St. Louis Park officials are satisfied with their program 13 years after it was implemented. And, so far, Elk River lead- ers believe city officials now and in the future will agree that this was the right move to make. "This has been a real positive," Femrite says. In fact, Dietz quickly came full circle despite his early doubts and now sup- ports the franchise fee 100 percent. "I've heard very few complaints about this fee since it was implemented," he says. "To get charged $108 a year for street repair? I don't know how you can get by any cheaper than that. I'm a con- vert. It's proven that it works." m AndrewTellijohn is a freelance writer based in Richfield, Minnesota. On the web For more city news, visit www.lmc.org/citynews. PHOTO BY MICHAEL BRAUN MINNESOTACITIES I JUL/AUG 2016 I 35